I May be Sweet, But I Can Bite
by SleepingInTheMeadow
Summary: Snow White has always loved learning, so when Red comes into the picture, she's in for a wild ride of learning what is implied of being a "Child of the Moon"
1. Calm Before the Storm

**This story's idea comes from a guest reviewer who commented on my story, "Home is Where My Family Is," and it gave me and idea, so this fic was born, so thank you! As always, I hope you enjoy!**

"Um…Sno-Frosty," She said,"No, Margaret. No, Mary. Mary."

"Okay, Mary. I'm Red." Mary hesitantly followed Red outside and to another part of their property.

"I just need to get some water."

"Okay." Snow trailed behind Red to a water well.

"It get's a little sticky sometimes, can you help me?" Snow nodded and to the end of the rope and pulled it over her shoulders. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Hey, look at this. Mary. Mary?" Snow was gazing upon the bodies that lay splayed around them, the snow around them covered in their blood, their weapons beside them. The pain of water full of blood splashed to the bottom of the well again.

Snow gasped and was on the verge of tears while Red struggled to control her breathing.

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The girl who she followed, Red, was absolutely gorgeous, Snow thought she was going to trip. Her sage green eyes entranced her as hard as a spell could. she was tall, skinny, and had curves everywhere, shown off by her beige dress. She wore a red cloak, the hood went over her chestnut brown hair, some strands braided here and there.

"Granny!" Red called. No reply. They talked to her earlier, but she had left to deal with the _problem_.

"You'll have to stay in my room," she said, leading her down to a door on the left.

"To the right is the bathroom, and this is my room." She opened the door and came in.

There was a modest amount of space. She had a bed on the wall to her right, with flowing translucent curtains, and on the wall opposite was a fireplace. There was a chest at the other end of her bed and a closet behind it, and a nightstand to the right of her bed.

Red hopped onto the bed and patted beside her. Snow sat down compliantly and fidgeted. Red placed a hand on her fiddling ones.

"Are you cold? We can start a fire in the fireplace." Snow nodded and trailed behind her, grabbing blankets.

"That's a pretty hood, I wish I had one as lovely as yours," Snow said timidly.

"Thank you, my Granny gave it to me for my birthday. It protects me from the wolves."

"_That_ was the howling last night?"

"Yeah, our village has a wolf problem, as if you couldn't tell already." Red states bluntly. Snow carried wood from the shack outside to Red, where she was stuffing papers into the fireplace.

Once the fire was blazing, Red grabbed blankets and pillows and piled them onto the floor, in a nest of warmth. Snow and Red found themselves smothered by pillows and blankets.

Granny came from outside with bottles of milk wedged underneath her underarms and in her hands. She undid her scarf and looked at the girls covered in blankets in front of a fireplace eating freshly baked muffins.

"What on earth are you two doing," Granny asked.

"We were cold," Red muttered. Snow giggled.

"Sorry," Snow and Red apologized. Granny rolled her eyes.

"Dramatic girls," she grumbled. Red howled with laughter and settled down on her pillow again.

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The next day, Red and Granny took her to a town meeting, where the three stood in the back as the villagers discussed the impending wolf problem, or more accurately, yelled about it. Snow wore a scarf over her mouth and nose.

"We won't let that beast get away this time," a man shouted. Villagers in their seats cheered and raised pitchforks, torches, and other weapons.

Their faces and voices blurred together, but Red and Snow weren't paying attention. Across the room, a man with shaggy brown hair, a stubble, and kind hazel eyes watched Red. She could see Red wave to him out of the corner of her eye, and they both blushed.

"No, nothing will work. Nothing can stop this wolf. It is the biggest thing you will ever see, taller than any monster you will ever see, and teeth larger than any of your hands…" Granny started. Snow and Red were intrigued by her tale.

"…it surrounded all seven of them and picked them off, one by one, right in front of my eyes, lunging for their throats before they could scream…"

Once Granny finished, villagers gasped and gaped at Granny's scar.

After the meeting was finished, Granny went to run errands in town, while Snow and Red went home.

"So, your Granny's kind of intense," Snow breathed once they were in the succour of her room once again.

"Yeah, a bit. I feel like a rat in a trap." Red looked over to Granny outside the cracked open door, who was knitting calmly in her rocking chair.

"Is that keeping you from…being with someone?" Snow started. Red blushed.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I saw some looks exchanged back there, and I hate to break it to you, but they were _not_ subtle," Snow laughed, nudging her. Red giggled.

"His name's Peter. We've been friends forever, but things are…changing," she muttered.

"That must be nice," Snow gushed dreamily.

"Do you have someone?"

"Oh, um, no. I'm not sure that's in my future."

"I'm sure it is," Red suggested.

"You're lucky, Red."

"I know. And we're talking about going away together."

"But, I rarely get to see him, with the wolf. Granny never lets me outside."

"She's right about the wolf, but she shouldn't keep you away from love." Snow could tell Red was lost in thought.

"Then let's kill the wolf."

"Hang on..."

"We'd be heroes."

"Red, teams have been trained, hunters have been killed."

"They go at night, when the wolf has the advantage, but if we go in the day, then we can get him while he's sleeping, in his den and kill it."

"I don't know."

"Well, I'm going with or without you. But I'm sure of one thing. It won't keep me trapped in here any longer." Red grabbed her cloak and Snow looked up at her from the bed. She sighed and followed her.

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The two trudged through the treacherous cold. They looked around trees and through deep banks of snow.

"Is this it?" Snow asked.

"No, that's a dog, the one we're looking for is bigger."

"How about this?"

"That's a rabbit. What we're looking for is big, bigger than the dogs but similar."

Snow stopped.

"Like these?" The print was big, bigger than a normal print should be.

"That's the one," Red whispered. Snow looked for the second set of prints. From behind her, Red whispered.

"There's the second print."

"One stride from here…to there," Snow breathed. The next bloody print was around seven feet from the last one.

They continued on, following the prints that were slightly covered by snow. Then slowly, they began to change. They got longer and thicker, until it was a full boot print.

"Oh, my god," Snow whispered. Red gasped.

"It's…half man?" Snow nodded briskly.

"Peter." Red muttered.

"I'm so sorry, Red."

"We need to tell him," Red said. Snow nodded and they headed back to the village.

——————————

"Red?" Peter answered,"who are you?"

"I'm Mary."

"Peter, we found something,that I think you need to see." Peter nodded and followed the pair back to the snowy foliage.

"May I ask why you're covering your face?" Peter asked Snow.

"Um, someone's trying to find me," she muttered. He nodded and they trailed behind Red. They reached the last tracks of wolf before they turn human.

"Peter. I think…you're…the wolf," Red said.

——————————

Red led Peter to a tree with chains in her hand.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to do this," Red murmured.

"It's fine, as long as there is no possibility of me hurting you." She nodded and finished fastening him.

"You should go," Peter commanded.

"No, I'm not leaving you," Red assured.

——————————

"Red, where is Mary? She could be eaten," Granny asked.

"Talk to me, girl." In Red's place, lay Snow in her cloak.

"Where's Red?"

"We think we found the wolf, Peter. We have him tied to a tree."

"What the hell, Peter isn't the wolf, Red is." Snow's mouth dropped at their mistake.

"We need to get to her, quick!" Snow jumped off the bed and removed Red's cloak, replacing it with her own. They ran as fast as Granny could.

When they got there, Peter's remains were strewn about, and a wolf almost as tall as Snow stood, teeth barred and covered in blood.

Granny raised her crossbow and shot a silver tipped arrow at the wolf, but not before it bit Snow's arm. She dropped to the ground.

"Don't worry, it'll just keep her down," Granny assured a shocked Snow. Snow covered the wolf with the hood, and seconds later, the violent wolf was replaced by a confused Red.

"Get her away from here," Granny instructed, as they heard hunters shouting in the distance. Red collapsed and Snow held her wounded arm against her chest.

"Peter," she screamed. Snow held her close as Red broke down crying.

"We need to leave," Snow urged. Red kept her feet planted on the ground, sobbing. Snow pulled her away from the scene and into the woods. A few stray hunters followed them, but not for very long.

Snow pulled Red inside the house and into their nest of pillows and blankets. She cradled Red soothingly.

"I killed Peter, and I wounded you, she murmured,"I'm the big bad wolf that's terrorizing this village."

"You had no idea what was happening, this is not your fault."

"Yes it is. If I wore my cloak, then Peter would've been alive, and you wouldn't be hurt."

"Hey. Look at me," Snow ordered. Red looked up at Snow tears-eyed, and it broke Snow's heart. "You are not blaming yourself for this. Okay? I'll be fine.

"What if you aren't. This magic is unpredictable."

"I'll be fine," she uttered. "Your granny was, why wouldn't _I_ be?" Granny clumped through the door and into Red's room.

"Mary, let me see your arm." Snow got up from the nest and over to Granny, who took her arm and examined it closely. Granny looked grave at the woman in front of her

"Magic like this is unpredictable," she said,"watch that closely."

"Granny, what about your bite? What happened with it?"

"I become one. A werewolf. Don't worry too much, but just be prepared," Granny warned, shutting the door. Red looked at Snow with sympathy.


	2. In The Light Of The Moon

**If you have any reviews or requests, they always help! I hope you enjoy. **

Snow nursed her arm against her chest as she laid next to Red, who was sleeping restlessly. She looked to her arm, wrapped in bandages, but noticed the blood staining them. Granny gave her some herbal tea, which had helped ease her pain, but she found she couldn't sleep.

Outside in her rocking chair, Granny also found herself plagued by sleeplessness, despite Wolfstime ending. She couldn't help but fear for the girl accompanying Red. Nobody deserves to get dragged into a life of slaughter, fear, and obliteration.

Snow didn't mind, as long as she didn't kill, and it led her to the discovery of the pull she felt towards Red. It could be the bite, any traces of magic given to her, or it could be the warm welcome shown to her. Whatever it was, it drew her in further, enamoured by the aura Red gave off, wafting around her, eventually tugging her into sleep.

When she awoke, Snow noticed the warmth against her back was gone. Red was standing at the window, gazing out at an onslaught of heavy snowflakes outside, watching them twirl and dance around, some catching in her hair and eyelashes.

Snow sat up and Red turned around, a wistful look of longing quickly replaced by brightness in her eyes. She grinned at Snow, who was now contemplating sleeping in the same bed as Red, for the sole purpose of hiding her messy hair from sleep and her constant yawning, but Red only grinned sweetly, as sweet as chocolate drizzled in honey, despite the murderous werewolf persona she took on the night before.

"Hey, how long have you been up?" Snow asked. Red looked around, trying to hide the sleepiness that still lay evident on her face.

"A little while." Snow didn't press on further, knowing full well how Red must be feeling. Instead, she led her out of the room and to the kitchen, where Granny was adorning bowls of porridge with berries.

Snow sat in front of a bowl, while Red glanced outside anxiously. Knowing where her train of thought was going, she got up again and placed a hand on her shoulder pacifically.

"You need to eat, don't worry about them. You'll be fine." Red nodded uneasily, but leaned into Snow's affection.

"How's your arm," Red questioned, suddenly lulled out of her startled daze by something.

"It's fine," Snow lied.

"Nonsense, girl, drink this," Granny ordered from behind the table in the kitchen, a warm mug of tea held out to her. She gratefully accepted it and ate her porridge, noting the hint of cinnamon bringing a warm feeling throughout her body.

After Red collected eggs from the coop and water like clockwork, Granny let her wallow in self pity, at least once, before getting her back to helping her with her growing business in baked goods and expensive brewing of coffee beans, a delicacy hard to come by.

Snow tried to cheer her up and keep up conversation, but Red gave no sign of cheering up, but at least bothering to plaster on a fake smile. Progressively, her wound grew worse and more painful.

By the end of the day, Snow pulled off her bandages to a foul sight. Her wound's severity declined excessively, from being a mildly tolerable sting to a ferocious, searing pain, immobilizing her arm.

As soon as Red saw the bite, she called Granny into her room, who barged in with her crossbow, but ran out and fetched bandages and expensive medicine used for emergencies.

"We'll have to wait until the next full moon, but it's not looking good," Granny informed. Snow stifled a sob and Red broke out in tears.

"I'm a monster," she whispered. Snow pulled herself from Granny's grasp to hug her close.

"You are not a monster. You will never be a monster. Do you hear me? This was never your fault. Okay? I was stupid, and I thought I could wear your hood, and I never should've jumped to the conclusion it was Peter. I'm sorry." Red was now assuring her, hugging her close.

"No, this wasn't your fault either. We both thought it was Peter. We will figure this out, but we don't even know if we have anything _to _solve." Snow nodded into Red's hair, as Granny untangled Snow's arm from behind Red and began bandaging it.

That night, Snow got a fever and found Red dabbing her forehead with a cold cloth. She fiddled with Red's ties to her dress in the bed.

Next came the nausea and dizziness, incapacitating her almost fully now. She tried getting up a few times, insisting that she didn't need to be coddled, that she had overcome many an illness in her time in the woods, but gave in to Red and Granny's warnings, after soon learning she coul barely stand without falling over.

Three and a half weeks past with her peculiar illness, but one day before Wolfstime, they knew.

Red and Granny had secured a bunker a few miles from the house, and set up chains to keep them both sealed within it's confining walls.

Snow woke up the morning of the full moon completely cured of her sickness. Granny would say she was surprised, but she would be lying.

Despite being fully cured, Snow felt drowsy and miserable. She never chose this way of life, but she would find a way to adapt, if not for her, for Red.

Red noticed the sorrowful cloud looming over "Mary," a persistent melancholy mood following her around, reminding her that Red was a part of her life now, a fate she can't escape if she cut their connection like a thread.

"I'd ask if you're okay, but it's not really any use, is it." Snow merely shook her head and watched Red with glazed over eyes filled to the brim with disconsolate tears on the brim of emerging.

"I want to go home. I miss everything. And now I'm part wolf. No offence, but that doesn't exactly make my case easier, especially living in the woods." Red rubbed her back comfortingly as Snow turned her back and faced the fireplace.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you'll make a fantastic wolf, but I don't wish this curse on my worst enemy." Snow nodded and a single to leave her eye before Granny called to them to get a move on.

Unfortunately, a fearsome blizzard was in their midst and they trekked through massive snow banks reaching above their knees, Unrelenting piles of snow falling onto them in the form of tiny flakes, and the biting cold nipping at their fingers. They brought shovels to dig their way into the bunker, but there's no telling if they can get out after.

"Thank god we're wolves and not lizards, I don't think we'd survive this cold without fur," Red commented quietly. Snow chuckled and watched Red lift her legs high and down through the deep snow, admiring her pink cheeks, her hair entangled with melting flakes of snow, and how she lifted her cloak above the snow.

Red knew Snow was staring at her, but she let her. If the roles are reversed, she wouldn't mind staring at Snow either, in fact, she'd like it.

After what seemed like hours, they found the place among the woods where the bunker slept under the snow. The girls dug determinedly for the trap door covered in the freezing powder enshrouding the kingdom, and found it before the sun began setting.

After shutting the door and getting themselves situated in their chains, they waited patiently, talking for hours, until Red felt a familiar, yet strange tug, and soon, both her's and Snow's eyes were glowing a golden brown at the time of the night.

In Red's place was a large wolf, ferocious teeth barred and brown-grey fur ruffled.

Lo and behold, Snow was now a wolf, an inch shorter and leaner than Red, but large, burly legs. Her fur was coloured a white as pure as snow, with patches on her body as dark as ebony, and on her ears and face, speckles of red, just like her namesake.

The two wolves growled and pounced at each other, but finding them tightly wound around pillars, held back by chains. Both finding movement utterly useless, they stayed like that until they changed back.

Snow found herself on the ground, passed out, with no recollection of her time as a wolf. Red was already awake and stretching, worry etched onto her face, watching Snow's rise and fall of her chest.

Once Snow was awake, the chains were undone and Red was beside her, stroking her shoulder. She looked at Snow expectantly.

"Well, I'm a wolf now," Snow stated.

"Welcome to the club," Red muttered, climbing off the ground and helping up the other woman. Together, they walked back to the cottage to find granny in her rocking chair, fast asleep ad snoring, but jolted awake by the girls closing the door.

Granny raised an eyebrow, and Snow nodded. The older woman gave her a sympathetic look and handed her medicine for her head.


	3. That's The Wolf Talking

**This chapter is gonna be a little bit angsty, but it gets better. If you have any reviews or requests, they always help. I hope you enjoy!**

Being a wolf couldn't be all bad, Snow thought. She had the element of surpise against the Queen, it could be much easier to hunt, and the nights alone in the winter would feel less bitter and numbing. Then again, the ever-present, uncontrollable urge was there, the one that the wolf instilled in her; to kill, to maul, and to give in to the darkness residing in her other half, in her wolf.

She couldn't fight it, only tame it, but even that took almost all of her energy from her. Even when it wasn't Wolfstime, it ate at her resolve, sinking it's darkened teeth deeper and deeper into her soul. She could only imagine how Red felt.

Snow was nursing a headache while Red made her what she promised would be 'only mediocre' pancakes. She insisted on helping, but Red knew how much pain she'd be in, that much was true. Snow fought it, but gave up easily once Red made her adorable puppy-dog face.

She held her head in her hands and pulled the blankets up over herself as much as possible. Her head was underneath the covers when Red came in, balancing a tray of pancakes, juice, and berries on shaky hands. Snow pulled her head up from the covers and took the tray from Red. The other girl sat beside her and pulled the blankets over her tall body.

"Hey, are you okay," she questioned. Snow looked up from where she was looking at her hands before, and Red could see the wolf fighting her at every thought, every word. She knew the feeling.

"No," she muttered with a mouthful of pancakes. Red wanted to giggle at how small she seemed, how shy she looked and sounded, but decided against it, only pulling her close, warming up her freezing hands with hers as she ate.

"What are we going to do once the village finds out about us?"

"We'll find a cabin in the woods," Red said, "or find a house in a village, where they will never find out."

"No, not a village. It will be too easy to find me." Red nodded.

"Cabin in the woods it is, then." Snow smiled for the first time in a month, and it broke Red's heart. The beautiful, pained, stunning, terrified look on her porcelain face, framed by her raven-coloured hair. She would spend the rest of her life in the cabin they found, as long as she saw Snow everyday, she noted.

Granny was sleeping in still, something she rarely ever does, but Red knows she's a tough cookie that doesn't need to be fussed over, so instead, she leads Snow out into the woods.

"Why," she complained sleepily.

"Because you've spent the last month sick in bed. Why not get some fresh air and go exploring?"

"But I'm tired," she moaned. Red laughed.

"You'll be fine," she insisted, but removed her hood and wrapped it around Snow. She looked back at her quizzically.

"I'll be fine," Red whispered.

"Thanks." They treaded through heavy banks of snow and through the endless sea of forest.

"So where exactly are we going," Snow asked.

"Wherever we want."

"I thought you had a set goal in mind. This isn't an adventure, this is just…walking."

"I thought you would've liked it."

"No, I'm too grumpy to see the adventure in things," Snow joked.

"Mary doesn't think anything's an adventure, of all the things likely to happen, this isn't one of them." Snow laughed.

"Don't worry, I've had plenty adventures, enough for my lifetime. If it we're a better day, this would be."

"Adventures such as?"

"This one time, I scared off some thieves invading my…village. My friend taught me to wield a bow and arrow to take them on. He taught me that being a hero was in my cards, that I had something to live for, to aspire to be."

"I wish I could have adventures like that."

"You'll get to, I promise. When we run away, there will be no doubt in my mind that we'll find adventure along the way."

"This is irrational to say, but I can't wait until the village finds out about us."

"Honestly, me too." they kept walking for a little while longer, until Red couldn't feel her feet and they sat down a fallen tree.

"What was your favourite adventure," Red asked.

"Well, it seems pretty small in comparison to others, but to make a long story short, I once travelled across three kingdoms in one night to escape some very angry trolls with no hands."

"No hands?"

"I was robbing them of their gold and removed them of their hands. They chased me for hours. Every time I thought I was hidden enough, they could smell me and kept chasing me."

"How did you escape?"

"I went into the tavern and poured three mugs of ale on myself, then borrowed a girl's clothes. I just barely made it, but it was amazing. I was rich, compared to others, I was rich. I had to spend it all on food and clothing though."

"That sounds incredible," Red murmured.

"I like to think that I could entertain an entire village with my hours of endless tales on the run."

"You sure got me hooked," Red affirmed. Snow laughed heartily, something Red felt her heart thump furiously against her chest at.

They continued walking through the forest and fell upon a small pond pullulating with wildlife, despite the harsh winter air they chilled in. They scared off a few rabbits and deer, but Snow snared a wild boar and skinned him. She started a fire to cook him over.

"Why cook this when we have food at home," Red asked.

"This is your first glimpse at the types of adventures I have. It may seem boring, but this is what I eat on a lucky evening."

"If you're not lucky?"

"Mushrooms, herbs, and wild fruits, veggies, and berries." No wonder you're so lean, Red thought. Snow was roasting the pig over the growing fire now, as Red held out her hands for a welcoming heat.

"I'd hate to be living outside in winter," Red remarked.

"Sometimes I sneak into other people's houses, rich people with cellars and attics. I hide out there sometimes, but it never really does much for the heat. When in a cellar, I do get some fine wine to drink, though." Red laughed.

"So, what else do you do when on the run, besides running, cooking pigs, and hiding in people's basements?"

"Nothing else, really. I rarely ever find time to do anything other than that, and if I did, I wouldn't know what to do." Red nodded along and gazed into the smouldering embers of the fire. The sky was just starting to pinken and the sun hung low on the horizon. They both sat on their cloaks while Snow held the boar over the fire.

"I think he's done. Can you grab me a small stick?" Red nodded and broke a twig off a dead tree. She held it up and Snow nodded. She poked and pulled it open and the meat inside was slightly tinted pink.

"He's ready," Snow chimed and Red couldn't help but lick her lips in anticipation. They ate the meat off its bones as daintily as they could manage with no plates and utensils. There was still much more left, but Snow threw it onto the snow.

"We'll let the animals eat the rest. If we're lucky and we break out of the bunker, we can have the rest," Snow joked, while Red laughed uneasily.

"Speaking of which, we need to go," Red said. Snow nodded an snuffed out their fire. They hurriedly walked to the bunker and Snow opened the hatch, letting Red in before she closed it behind her.

Red was taking off her cloak when Snow came in.

"Keep it on, if you want."

"No, that's okay. I'll go through this with you."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to." Snow didn't push it any further and nodded. They were both stubborn and she didn't want to fight. It felt nice that she wanted to endure it by her side anyway, so she took it.

Like clockwork, they changed in the blink of an eye, but instead of growling and jumping at each other, they sat on their hind legs and watched each other, mesmerized in the form and beauty the other posed. By the end of the night, the door was somehow broken open and they were pressed against each other in an attempt to keep warm. They both doubted that they broke out, so it was possible it was the wind, an animal, or a human.

They both woke up lightheaded again, but Snow felt refreshed, in a sense. Instead of feeling awkward being pressed flush against Snow when Red woke, she actually liked the feeling, and maybe subconsciously held her waist as well. They walked back to the cabin in peaceful silence. Granny greeted them good morning and handed them muffins for breakfast, and they ate on the couch, looking outside every couple of minutes and Red laughing at more tales Snow told of her journeys across the kingdoms.

An aggressive knock on the door startled all three of the woman. The two girls on the couch looked between each other and Snow almost shook with fear at the possibilities of them being caught. Red didn't think they were, but it was still a thought that tugged at the back of her mind, urging her to listen, but she didn't listen to instincts, instincts was the wolf, not her.


	4. When The Night Takes Over

**Please send me feedback on my stories, and I hope you enjoy! **

"Can I help you," Granny asked the man at the door. Snow and Red were at the table eating their breakfast, refusing to turn around to look at him.

"Your daughter and her little friend have been responsible for our wolf problem," a gravelly voice growled. A few people were gathered behind him, and when the two girls turned around, they were met with a village-sized gathering wielding pitchforks, bows, old and rusted swords, and brooms.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Granny dismissed. She was shutting the door when the man in front wedged a foot in front of the door. "Tucker, that means you are not needed here. If you'll excuse us, the girls aren't feeling well."

"Why," he interrogated.

"Because they're sick. Your presence is not wanted. Goodbye." Instead of leaving, the crowd only advanced further, with a few people squeezing through the door and making their way towards the girls.

"Run," Granny ordered. Both girls immediately jumped up off their chairs and ran to the back of the cabin. Red was wedging the window open and pushing Snow through, before she followed suit.

They both bolted into the trees behind the house. From behind them, people began chasing them, the crunching of snow beneath all of their feet the only sound in the growing forest. Snow made the mistake of looking back, earning her an arrow narrowly missing her face.

"Through here," Red ordered. She turned to the right and zigzagged through the trees as the loud footsteps that followed them stopped.

Red pulled off her hood and threw it to Snow.

"What're you…" she was stopped by a wolf replacing Red's slender form.

"But…it's not night yet," she reasoned. Red simply shook her head and turned around. Already knowing what she was implying, she climbed onto Red's back and watched the forest blur around them. Even after knowing that they were gone, she kept running until she physically couldn't move her legs anymore.

"Are you okay," Snow asked. She knew her answer before she said it, she was always so stubborn.

"No, I'm fine, I just need a rest," she muttered after changing back.

"How did you do that anyway," Snow wondered.

"I'm not really sure how it happened. Do you think you can do it?"

"I don't know, I could try," she murmured. She handed red her cloak she had been holding and closed her eyes. Under her eyelids, they flashed gold until she was on all fours with her pack in her mouth, grinning a mockingly scary smile at Red.

"I think it's a necessity to be a wolf during the moon, it seems like we can change whenever we want. That makes things easier." Snow nodded. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you look," Red commented. Snow bowed her head to show that she meant the same.

Red dropped her cloak and changed into a wolf, grabbing her cloak with her teeth and pointing her head to the left. Snow only nodded and trotted behind her, later breaking out into a full-on sprint.

_North is that way, or is it that way, _Red thought.

_Red, can you hear me? I can hear you. _

_Yeah, I can hear you. What is this?_

_I don't know, but it's cool, _Snow thought. Red laughed internally.

_Okay, I have no idea where we're going, _Red admitted.

_Don't worry, _Snow assured. She led them off to the right and ducked down.

_There's a pack of deer a few miles from here, and I'm starving. _Snow darted forward and Red couldn't help but follow her and the scent of the food.

They took down a deer each in mere seconds. Snow was a bit surprised at how fast she could run, knowing it's the first time she's remembered even being a wolf, but it was a welcome feeling.

_You've got a little bit on your muzzle, _Red mentioned, barely stifling a giggle. Snow wiped it off with a snowy white paw and smiled.

_We should find somewhere to stay. Until Wolfstime is over, we can sleep outside. Our fur should keep us warm at least. _Red nodded and trotted off to a large tree shadowing them from the light of the moon.

_I'm tired, _Red complained.

_So am I. Goodnight, Red. _

_Goodnight Mary. _Snow dropped to her belly and laid her paws under her head beside Red, who was close to falling asleep. A chill settled over the two as the typical winter breeze whistles through the trees and pricked them with small shivers of cold. Instinctually, she crept closer to Red, seeking the warmth another wolf could provide.

Red exhaled slowly as Snow's side made contact with hers. The feeling of security this woman brought in the middle of nowhere was comforting. Especially when Granny was back at home, with the rioting villagers threatening her granddaughter with pitchforks. Even if Granny was a tough cookie, she worried.

Even if both girls were exhausted mentally and physically, both their bodies refused to let them sleep. Instead of trying to fall asleep, Red ended up leaving and looking at the stars shining brightly down on them.

The padding of paws in the soft snow alerted her of the other wolves presence.

_Beautiful, isn't it, _Snow asked.

_It is. _

_Are you okay? You've had a long day, you need some rest. _

_I just want to know how Granny's doing. We left her behind with a hoard of angry villagers wielding an assortment of weapons. _

_I know. If you want, we could check back on her tomorrow. We'll have to sneak around the villagers, but we'll make sure she's okay, but you know we can't stay. _

_I know. I just want to say goodbye to her first. _Snow nodded. Red could see her out of the corner of her eye, she was looking at her with an alluring charm. She wanted to give into her, no matter how awful it seemed. She would just absorb herself in the woman's presence and attention to her.

They fell asleep under the stars, Red and Snow huddled together with snow clinging to their fur.

When they awoke, the sky was still dark. They were freezing and covered in snow. Red wrapped her cloak around herself and brushed stray flakes from her hair. Looking beside her, Snow was still sleeping. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes and her hair. Her cheeks and nose were very pink, and her face emitted the very innocence and fierceness she grew to love in the small time she knew her.

Snow's eyes fluttered open and immediately brightened at Red watching her.

"Morning," Red whispered.

"Good morning," Snow whispered back. "You ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Red replied nervously. Snow smiled kindly and changed into her wolf. Red followed suit.

They ended up making it back as the sun rose. Nobody seemed awake yet, all but Granny, kept up all night by apprehension, not knowing where the two girls were.

Red climbed through the window of her bedroom and helped Snow through. Snow brushed some dirt off her dress and followed Red.

"Granny," she whispered into the kitchen, lit by a few candles.

"Oh my god, child! You scared me to death," she whisper-shouted. Red lit up with glee.

"I can't stay long, people will find us. I just wanted to properly say goodbye." She pulled Granny from her baking to hug her.

"Thank you so much. I hope I can visit you soon, and I'll send you a letter as soon as I can." Granny nodded and pulled back, grabbing Red's shoulders.

"Be good. Stay safe, watch out for the search party, and I love you." Red nodded and hugged her quick again.

"Thank you, Granny, for everything. I can't thank you enough, but I will do anything I can."

"Keep my girlie safe." She nodded and hugged her, something she didn't expect but quickly hugged her back.

"You're gonna have to leave, I have someone coming in to pick up an order very soon." They both nodded and climbed back out Red's window, but not without Red changing into something less prohibiting than a dress. Snow found her eyes glancing a little more than they should.

"You can wear something else of mine if you want. I'm sure you don't want to be on the run in a dress." Snow nodded slowly and took the outfit Red handed to her. It was a little long, but she rolled up the cuffs of her pants and smiled. Red also found her eyes wandering down her small and muscular physique.

"Thank you," Snow muttered.

"Of course, now let's get moving."

They ran along the side of the house and into the forest almost perfectly silent.

Snow felt a sharp stabbing pain in her back. She cried out in pain, and Red turned around, facing both the search party and Snow kneeling on the ground.

"C'mon," she whispered, morphing into a wolf and helping her onto her back once more. A few more arrows hurtled past them and into the trees surrounding them, until Red was full-on charging through the forest until she was dizzy.

_Please don't die on me, Mary. Don't you dare die. _She continued through the trees, not bothering to stop until the shouts of the hunting party were no longer audible to even her wolf ears.

Snow was groaning in pain by the time they stopped, but they were doing fine. Snow dug through her pack for bandages and a flask full of alcohol she smuggled from a tavern somewhere.

"Pull my arrow out then bandage it up," Snow instructed. Red cringed when glancing at the bloodstained clothes, with an arrow wedged at the bottom of her back, on her right.

She gripped the shaft of the arrow, but quickly released it at Snow's pained cries.

"No, stop, Red. You have to do this. Ignore me. Please pull it out." Red slowly nodded and felt a tear trickle down her face.

She held the shaft once more and pulled at it. She fell backwards with the arrow in her hand and Snow digging her gloves hands into the snow while gasping and groaning.

"Red, the bandages." Red nodded and bit her lip. Snow could here her small sniffles and felt her shaky hands pour drops of alcohol onto her wound and wrap the bandages around her back and abdomen.

"Red, I'll be fine." She struggled to stand up, and Red immediately helped her up.

"I'm sorry," Red whispered. Snow nodded and held her cheek with gentle hand.

"See? I'll be fine. It shouldn't get infected and it'll heal. We'll have to go find the nearest village and find some more supplies and food, but I'll be fine." She scoured the ground and grabbed a sizeable tree branch.

"I'll use this," she whispered and wiped a tear from Red's rosy cheeks,"I'll be fine."

"Don't ever die on me," Red ordered. Snow laughed.

"You know what? I'm Snow. I'll tell you everything, but first I want us to find somewhere to stay." Red nodded and held Snow's waist as they walked off to their new home; each other.


	5. I'll Be Back Soon, I Promise

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She never expected to immediately recognize Snow's face all over the posters littering the forest paths and roads. She now knew the girl's face to be her companions.

"They never did get my face right," Snow muttered, drawing Red out of her bubble of barely-coherent thoughts.

"I didn't recognize that to be you until you pointed it out to me," Red remarked. Snow laughed. Red pulled a poster off a tree and stared at it. The beautiful colourless eyes looked right back at her with naivety and curiosity, a trait she could easily pick out from Snow right now as she was gazing at the sparkling permafrost coating the branches of tree limbs hanging above them both. Snow turned her head back to Red with a grin that shimmered as brightly as the snow crystals around them. It pulled at every muscle in her body with euphoria.

Snow turned back and struggled to continue walking forwards. She forced herself to stay upright, immediately gathering every ounce of Red's attention.

"Hey, let me help," Red insisted. Snow waved a hand at her and brushed her off.

"I'm fine. Let's keep going." She couldn't walk three steps without falling back down to her knees.

"No, you're not fine. If you crumple to the ground every five minutes, I think you might be in more pain than you're letting on," Red joked. Snow rolled her eyes and accepted the hand Red offered her.

"Okay, maybe I'm not as good as I've been letting on, but I'll be fine now."

"God, why are you so _stubborn. _Jeez, I thought living in the forest would've knocked some sense into you by now." Snow shoved Red away, then grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back in. Snow shook her head.

"Nope. I'm too stubborn and guileless," she said, not hiding the peacefulness that glazed her voice and pink cheeks. Red chuckled and allowed herself to fall face first into the endless thoughts that stifled her in their silence through their minimal travels.

"The next village shouldn't be far. We can stop there and request a doctor to properly fix it," Snow reassured. Red slumped her shoulders in relief. She knew they needed to get it properly patched up as quick as possible before even thinking about where they were going after.

Red hadn't even been thinking about food until Snow's stomach rumbled ferociously. They both looked at each other and laughed after a beat of silence.

"I'll find something," Red said, tapping her hand nuzzled in the crook of her elbow. Snow opened her mouth to object, but Red quickly interrupted her with a mouthful of protests. Snow huffed but sat on a log, crossing her arms and pouting melodramatically. Red burst out laughing before she left, leaving Snow to force a heavier pout on her face.

It didn't take a while for her to find something to eat, they were surrounded by heavy foliage on a mountain, it couldn't be hard if she tried.

She was in the middle of aiming when she could tell immediately that it was Snow's pained screams echoing through the woods. She didn't care about the queen possibly on their trail when she screamed like that, she didn't even scream when she got shot.

She sprinted as fast as her currently-docile wolf would let her. When she arrived, a flash of flaming orange was running off back into a deep cave engraved in the mountain, melting a path of snow in it's wake.

Snow was writhing on the ground with burns running up her entire body, with a deep wound now in her abdomen.

_Dammit, _Red thought, _you really _do _attract trouble. _She knelt next to Snow, now bleeding on the pure white snow.

"What the hell was that," Red asked. Snow didn't answer, just watched Red as tears spilled over her porcelain cheeks. "Hold on, I'm getting you up."

"No."

"Snow, I need to get you to a doctor before you die. Whatever that was isn't going to be as lenient as that arrow." Snow debated her dire circumstances, then allowed herself to be held in Red's arms. After a few minutes, she passed out surrounded by Red's touch soothing her.

It took ten minutes for Red to reach the outskirts of the nearest village with a crumpled mess of a bandit in her arms.

"I need a doctor," she called to the passing villagers around them. Their faces turned up in disgust and horror, and a doctor immediately waddled out of a poor but sturdy house. He touched the burns covering the left side of her body.

"The Yaoguai got to you," he asked.

"I don't know what it was, but i caught a glimpse of it when he was heading back into it's cave." He nodded and took her from his waiting arms. He carried her inside with Red anxiously trailing behind him. She thought when she said _I have adventures all the time, _she was just exaggerating. I guess she must've been, before some fire-creature stabbed her and burned her.

His home was filled with shelves of the rarest of medicine she's seen; her village's doctor didn't have a third of these medicines in his house. He carried her to a cot set up in a room with even more medicine and bandages littering the counters.

He pulled out a box from under the cot and sifted through it's contents. Red was by Snow's side, gripping her hand like the anchor keeping her tied to sanity. She refused to let go even when he was smothering creams over her burns. He peeled her clothes off her overheated skin and the sight under her clothes was even more frightening.

The burns littered her entire body, running from the side of her face to her ankles, and anywhere in between. Blood was smeared all over her lean stomach and stained the bandages wrapped around her belly.

"What's this bandage for, was she injured before?"

"She was shot in the back with an arrow. We were coming here to seek assistance before it attacked."

"Were you with her when she was attacked?"

"No, I was hunting when I heard her scream." He nodded and pressed his hands to her bleeding stomach, now stained a jarring and beautiful crimson. She forced herself to choke down the feeling of puking and to stay by her side instead.

"I'm going to give this to her to alleviate her pain. She'll be asleep for a while after, but it will speed up her healing tremendously. After that, she'll have to take some more medicine, but she should be fine after a lot of rest," he finished. She nodded and looked down to her picture-perfect face. He began bandaging her wound and she could only wish that it was her. She would take it a thousand times more in order to save her.

She wanted to hunt the Yaoguai, and would die trying, but she couldn't leave Snow alone. She wouldn't forgive herself for it, even if she _did _kill it. Snow wouldn't leave her alone if their roles were reversed, so she wouldn't. It wouldn't be hard to enforce it upon herself.

After being dressed back up, she carried her to the inn above the tavern. Even for being midday, there were plenty of people drinking their sorrows away with a few pints of alcohol and a willing woman to spend their nights with.

Even for being as tall and muscled as she was, Snow was light, easy enough for Red to carry without much struggle.

The doctor's assistant followed them to the inn, tasked with keeping them both healthy in their stay. Red placed Snow on the bed like a stack of Granny's special dishes put out for the most special of occasions. The assistant pulled up a stool to the bed with a bowl of cold water and a cloth.

"I can do that," Red said, leaving no room for objection as she pulled the cloth out of he confused woman's light grasp. She dabbed her head placidly, in spite of the trepidation melting her heart to a puddle of liquified muscle.

The assistant knew exactly what she was feeling; she's seen that look passed between couples watching their loved ones slowly succumb to the numbing feeling of imminent death. That looked wasn't only mirrored, it was multiplied, by the way she could see her tenderly sweep her fingers over her cheeks while dabbing the cold cloth against her sweating forehead. She knew it, and it was there. The love she'd seen her patients show for one another was soothing. If only Snow was awake to see the adoration in Red's eyes.

——————————

Red couldn't sleep on the extra cot the nurse brought in for her. Instead she slept soundly against a still-sleeping Snow, while smelling her scent and hearing her steady breathing; the one thing that calmed her down in the worst of her fear.

The nurse had brought food for her, even if Red would push it away when offered it. She ended up having to eat when she almost force-fed her, before Red finally caved before her stomach digested itself. The doctor wasn't kidding when he said she'd be asleep for a while, but she didn't mind as long as she got better and felt relatively okay while doing so.

Still, she hated how silent she became when Snow wasn't joking with her. She would only ever sit on the floor with her head on her limp feet watching the seconds tick by a on large, obnoxious clock on the wall.

She didn't even hint about leaving her side, even if she needed to she would never leave for more than two minutes. Even when the doctor was talking, she held Snow's hand firmly.

One night, Red's sleeplessness was piling up on her. She desperately climbed into bed behind Snow and held her waist longingly.

"I love you," she whispered, the first and last time she thought she would admit it, then brushed a strand of hair off her cheek and kissed her cheekbone, finding sleep for the first time in a long time, longer than she cared to admit.


	6. I Come Bearing Gifts

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Red was starving and sleep deprived by the time Snow drifted back into consciousness. The nurse convinced her- no, _forced _her to get something to eat, and when she came back with at least a little bit of food in her growling stomach, Snow was whispering to the nurse like nothing happened.

"Snow," Red choked out, before running into her waiting arms. "I was so worried."

"I'm okay now."

"I think we should tape pillows to your body, you can't seem to not get hurt," she joked as she inhaled Snow's scent, memorizing it for the next time she would be separated from her. Knowing Snow, it wouldn't be long now, but that wouldn't stop her from keeping her safe.

"Can we leave now," she asked the nurse. She laughed and bent over her, checking her temperature.

"I would normally keep patients here for a while after being unconscious for five days, but you're perfectly normal. I'll inform the doctor and he'll be able to tell me whether you're okay to leave or not." Snow nodded while trying to subtly wrap her arms around Red's shoulders.

"I missed talking to you," Red whispered.

"I heard. That nurse told me you didn't eat anything until she forced you out of the room before I woke up, or sleep in that cot once." Red blushed and nodded.

"I didn't want to lose you." Snow nodded and held onto Red, resting her head on her shoulder, nudging her nose into the crook of her neck.

"You won't. I promise. You can't get away from me that easy." She felt Red's shoulders shake in a silent laugh.

"Same goes for you," she managed between snickers. Snow nodded and sat in her arms until the nurse came back with the doctor.

"You seem fine to me and you're burns are healing nicely, but I don't want you overexerting yourself. Take it easy and rub this on your burns every day before bed. If you run out, you can return or find another doctor to give it to you, as long as you have the empty jar to prove you need it. Take care," the doctor said, getting up off his knees and leaving with the nurse trailing behind.

"Thank you," Snow called out to the nurse,"for taking care of her." The nurse nodded and smiled before shutting the door behind her. Red let out an uneasy sigh of relief.

"Let's get going then. Maybe we can get a horse while we're here," Red said. She helped Snow off the bed and down the stairs to the first floor. Before leaving, Snow snuck around behind unsuspecting men and plucked bags of money and jewels for their pockets.

"Just in case," Snow said, barely hiding a wicked smile that hit Red in the head, but instead of hurting, it felt so good. She grinned back and led her to the stalls around the town market. They walked past booths with toys for children, meat, necklaces and bracelets, and pelts.

Red stopped Snow when she ran her fingers over the silky soft fur of a cloak.

"How much," she asked the merchant.

"200 silver," she replied in a gravelly voice. She looked at Snow before pulling out a leather pouch full of silver and slid it across the table. The woman sifted through and slid the pelt back to her.

Before Snow could know what was going on, she had a brown cloak wrapped around her shoulders.

"Red, I-"

"Don't worry about it. It's a gift. You look very pretty in it." Snow blushed and flicked her gaze down to her feet, pulling it tighter around her shoulders. When she looked back up into Red's hazel eyes, she smiled sweetly.

"Thank you," she whispered. "It's wonderful." Red took her hand and skipped through the market, occasionally skittering to a stop to buy food and supplies for their unplanned and completely amazing journey; she knew it was going to be amazing as long as she had Snow by her side.

"So, where to next," Red asked befuddledly.

"I'm not sure. We'll camp out wherever and hope we find our cabin. Maybe have a few fun little heists on the way," she said, whispering as she said the last part.

"What _kind _of heists, Miss Snow?"

"Well, it's survival of the fittest, we'll do whatever we have to," she said mysteriously. Red laughed a little too loudly.

"I'm excited," she admitted half heartedly.

"Me too. We'll have so many adventures, Granny'll be so overwhelmed when we visit her." Snow laughed.

"I don't think she could be overwhelmed with anything if she tried."

"Yeah, you're right. She'll just scoff and say I'm being an idiot."

"Are you?"

"Hell no," she said confidently. "We should get going, we can't linger for too long, someone might be able to put the pieces together with your face on every surface the Enchanted Forest has room for."

"Here, there's a trail around here somewhere," Snow whispered, dragging her by the hand into the foliage, pulling her wrist down with her and crouching behind a bush.

"What're we-"

"Shh, someone's coming." The stomping of horse's feet came from a few feet ahead of them, and through the leaves, she could see two horses, one white with red speckles and a black one speckled with white.

"I call the black one," Snow whispered as the horses skidded to a stop near the bush they were hiding in. She didn't bother protesting when Snow suddenly jumped out with her arrow drawn, forcing the two men riding the horses to the ground and hopping on it swiftly.

"C'mon Red, we gotta get going before someone finds us."

"I…haven't ridden a horse. Ever."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

"Here, hop on with me," Snow said with patience. Red gravitated towards her unknowingly, and she was being helped onto the animal.

"Be calm. Horses scare easily," she instructed kindly, as she started the horse up and down the path. Not knowing what to do, Red wrapped her arms around Snow as tight as she could with her breath quickening against Snow's shoulder. She patted her arm with her left hand.

"This isn't so bad," she said, muffled against Snow's shoulder.

"You're doing great." She urged the horse on faster, and Red gripped onto her tighter now. Snow giggled and leant her head on top of Red's, before lifting her head back up.

After about a half hour, Snow was holding onto Red's limp arms as her sleeping head slumped against her. After finding a decent place to give their horse a break, she slowly shook Red awake.

"Red, you gotta wake up."

"Why," she whined.

"We need to give the horse a break. I'm sorry, but you can go back to sleep after." Red groaned and sat upright, nearly falling off the side of the horse.

"Careful, I'll help," she said, before climbing off the horse and grasping her curvaceous waist while she pulled an exhausted Red off the horse.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I'm good," she muttered. Snow forced some bread and nuts into her anyway. After giving their horse an apple, they climbed back on and rode the horse off the trail. Just as Red was dozing off, she noticed their change in course.

"Why aren't we going on the trails," she wondered, slurring her words in near-sleep.

"It'll be too easy to find us."

"Why didn't we go off-trail before?"

"Because we weren't in the Queen's kingdom. We were right near the border." Red moaned somnolently in response and leant against Snow once more.

"You really didn't get any sleep when I was unconscious, did you?"

"No," she groaned once more, and then vowed to ignore Snow's questions in favour of sleep.

But that laugh, though. That sweet, melodic laugh that she would hear in favour of the kingdom's finest sweets, food, anything they threw at her, she would hear that voice for eternity if she had the option. Right now, she was planning on staying for eternity.

"Can you promise not to leave me," Red asked abruptly. Snow stopped the horse.

"Of course. I'd do anything for you, you know that, right?"

"Of course. And I you," she whispered, while listening to a folk song she'd heard Snow humming, but with Snow humming it, she was trying to fight sleep. She lost the fight and fell asleep with Snow's voice luring her into sleep.

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She didn't wake up right away, but she felt her body being hoisted off the horse by a pair of slender and muscular arms. A pair of lips landed on her forehead, starting an intense flutter of her heart and suddenly she felt full of rock bouncing around inside her.

"I love you," Snow whispered so quiet she thought she was dreaming.

"Mm, love you too," Red muttered. The arms holding her up almost dropped her.

"What did you say?"

"I said 'I love you.' Am I dreaming then?"

"No, you're not," Snow whispered. "I set up the tent and cooked some food." Red groaned.

"I'm not hungry," she whimpered.

"I know you are. I'm an excellent cook, I'm sure you'll be going for seconds."

"I'm sure I will," she muttered, before feeling her body being put down on the soft dirt, covered in something soft.

"Did you mean what you said," Snow asked absentmindedly.

"What did I say?"

"That you loved me. Do you?"

"Yes. How could I not?" Snow giggled and held her cheek in the palm of her hand. She nervously drew her face closer to Red's, and she pulled her down faster, pressing her lips against Snow's tentatively, yet so sure of herself. This is what she wanted, this is the thing she's yearned for since forever. Before she met Snow. Before she even knew what she wanted, and Snow easily gave that to her in a matter of months.

"I'm so lucky," Red murmured against Snow's lips, feeling the vibrations of her voice.

"Explain."

"I have an incredibly smart, sly, enchantingly beautiful girl say she loved me."

"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing about you," she laughed, before retracting herself from Red's arms to make their supper. She caught Red pouting slightly with her bottom lip stuck out, before she crawled over beside her and watched her.


	7. I Promise You Everything

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"What do we do now," Red asked.

"I was thinking we escape the kingdom, or at least stray far enough away from the Queen, and then we can just…find a life somewhere," Snow said. Red nodded and rubbed her hands together. The air was growing chillier, even for a wolf.

Snow caught sight of her shivering form from behind her and grabbed her arms, wrapping them around her own waist, rubbing small circles on her hands.

"Better?" she asked.

"Yes," Red spoke through chattering teeth. Her feet were numb and she was beginning to slump against Snow on their horse.

"How about we make camp here," Snow suggested. They were riding along a road somewhere near the edge of the kingdom, but Snow deduced it was near King Ralf's Kingdom, judging by the colder weather and light dustings of snow here and there. Red normally didn't mind the cold, but she felt weird. Snow just told her she was crazy and leant her head against Red's shoulder. She loved it when she did it.

"Yes please," Red said in admittance. Snow grinned and dropped her pack to the ground, jumping off after it, and finally grabbing Red's hands and pulling her down.

"Good girl, Dreamy," Snow cooed to the coal-black horse.

"You're naming her now?"

"Yeah. Why not? I like Dreamy."

"Because what happens when you get too attached and something happens?"

"It'll be fine. I won't get attached to her." She bent down and rummaged in her pack, until she smiled to herself and pulled out a bushel of carrots.

"You did great today." She set down the carrots in front of the horse and grabbed her pack, leading Red to their campsite for the night.

"Can you make a fire please, while I set up the tent," Snow asked. Red went into the forest and pulled down dead branches from trees. Snow usually used the axe to get logs from full trees, but Red foraged for dry branches on trees, away from the snowy ground.

She swept away a bit of snow before stacking them into a teepee before brushing off snow for a pair of rocks.

"Snow," she called,"I need your magic fingers." Snow rolled her eyes and knelt down beside Red, who was offering her the rocks, while struggling to hold the wood together.

"You try first," she instructed.

"You already know I can't do it."

"Yes you can, you just need practice. Just try it, please?" Snow drew out her bottom lip and widened her eyes, while tilting her head back.

"Your wolf cub face always work," Red caved. Snow giggled and handed her the rocks.

"Wolf cub?"

"Yeah, because you're already a wolf. This is just being a wolf cub, manifesting your human form."

"Really," Snow said dramatically,"then when I'm a wolf, if I make a regular face, would I be making a human face?"

"Shut up and help me." Snow laughed out and wound her arms around Red's waist, guiding her arms over the wood.

"You strike the rock from an angle, like this. Now, scratch them together, and the friction will create heat, setting off sparks to catch on the fire."

"I could've done without the science lesson," Red shot back while striking the stones.

"Well maybe I was teaching Dreamy."

"Dreamy didn't need that science lesson either."

"Red, look." Red turned her head back down where Snow's gaze sat, and where her dry pieces of wood were sitting, they were now set ablaze, slightly burning her hands. "You did it."

"I did it," Red repeated to herself in a steady mantra. "I did it!" She laughed and picked Snow up, spinning her around against her own chest. She peppered her face with kisses, sprinkling them from her nose to her eyelids, jawline, cheeks, temples, and finally to her red lips.

"Now, can we start supper? I'm famished."

"Of course, Chef Snow. What's on the menu tonight?"

"Rabbit and cornbread."

"Cornbread? Where'd we get _cornbread?"_

"I made it when you were hunting last night. It took a long time, though."

"Out here? Without ovens? Or bowls or anything?"

"I just got stuff from-"

"You're kind of a genius, you know."

"I am," Snow asked hopefully.

"You are," Red confirmed, pecking her on the lips once more. "Now would you mind if I went sightseeing for a bit?"

"Don't mind at all. I'll call you when it's ready."

"Perfect, thank you." Red jumped up and ran through the bare trees, staring up at the quarter moon, gently growing darker with the passing days. Even if it wasn't a full moon, she still wanted to turn; it was always more fun than exploring in human form.

Her feet began sliding under her, claws digging into a patch of ice and limbs wobbling before she fell on her stomach, sliding around in a circle before stopping. She dropped her head to the ground in defeat, but the surface felt different, hollow.

She looked below her to see a reflection of a dark-haired wolf, a reflection she's slowly gotten used to since she escaped with Snow. That part didn't matter right now, as she was laying on her stomach across a frozen lake.

She howled in delight before forcing her legs back under her and into a sprint. She was back at camp in a flash, nudging Snow up from in front of the fire.

"Red, what's going on," she asked, before transforming into a wolf herself and running ahead of Red.

_I found something,_ she told the confused wolf ahead of her.

_Good or bad?_

_Very good. _Red stopped in front of the ice, sitting on her hind legs and looking out across the lake.

_Wanna go skating,_ Red asked coyly, stepping out onto the ice.

_I don't have any skates. _

_We don't need them. _To prove her point, Red raised a paw and wiggles her toes back and forth. _Claws. _Snow's face was slowly glowing brighter and brighter, until she couldn't contain her excitement any longer.

She pulled Red onto the ice and pushed herself around the length of it, turning backwards to make sure Red was following. She couldn't see her.

She turned her head back around and was met by a wolf in front of her, who licked her nose before skating off backwards. Snow chased around after her, pushing her legs as fast as they could go. She missed a turn and slid right off the ice and into a bush. Red was laughing when she climbed back out, waiting for her on the lake.

Red pulled twigs and leaves out of her fur with her mouth, before skating back around.

They were out skating for hours, food long abandoned in favour of playing on the frozen ice. They met up in middle of the lake, limbs barely holding them up as Snow leant herself against Red. After a while, they changed back.

"That was so fun, thank you," Snow murmured against Red's skin, just below her ear. Red shivered, but she wasn't cold. She didn't trust her voice to answer back, she just nodded and held her tighter.

"Let's go back to camp, I'm hungry." Red helped her up and led her back to the tent, where the fire was just a pile of dying embers and their food in a frozen heap beside it.

"I'll grab more wood," Red said.

"Don't bother. We can eat and go to bed." Red nodded and watched Snow wrap her brown cloak around her body. At this point, it smelled sweet like Snow, but woodsy like Red. Snow loved smelling it when she was drifting off to sleep.

They brought their food into the tent and wolfed it down before sinking down into the sheets. Red felt a set of hands wrap around her and a nose breathing over her neck. She backed up further.

"Goodnight, Red."

"'Night Snow."

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_She was running. Where she was going, even a tracker as good as Snow wouldn't know. She only knew one thing. 'They'll catch you.' She was starting to see who _they _are. _

_Hordes of knights were thundering behind her on horseback, hooves digging into the dirt. At the front of the pack, the carriage she was all too familiar with. The Queen's was standing up and out her window, staring at Snow. The door opened and Red was being held by the hood of her cloak over the ground. They were __getting closer now. _

_A shrill voice sounded from somewhere. She realized it was hers when she felt her throat dry up. _

_"Give up now," the Queen called. She looked back quick enough to see Red's head dangling like the tendril of a vine. She heard a final scream before she was shaken awake. _

"Snow," her favourite voice whispered from somewhere in the dark tent. "You had a dream." Snow swept away a strand of hair from her swearing forehead before her eyes took in the black surroundings. Red was holding her cheeks, brushing a thumb over her jawline. She heard a sob from her own choked throat before a Red was kissing her delicately, switching between lips and the tears flowing freely down Snow's ivory cheeks.

"Here, Granny used to do this," Red said, before she struck a match and lit a lantern. "Why didn't you tell me we had matches, I wouldn't have taken so much time starting that fire tonight.

"Because I wanted you to do it yourself," Snow informed like it was an easy answer. Red could clearly see the streaks her tears left over her face, glimmering against the salty tracks.

"Whenever I had a bad dream, Granny lit a candle to chase off the bad dreams. I can put it out whenever your dream is gone." Snow smiled and leant over to Red over the expanse of the thick blankets, before pressing her lips to Red's.

Snow's kiss was insistent but warm, soft but firm. It took the wind out of her lungs every time.

"Thank you," Snow whispered, before kissing her once more. Red grinned before opening her mouth to her. Snow had Red wrapped around her agile fingers like a spring, but Red was more than willing to let her have everything; have her. She also had Snow wrapped around her; the two most stubborn people were ready to risk everything for each other in a matter of seconds.


	8. Don't Lose Faith In Me

**Please send feedback and I hope you enjoy! **

The journey was harrowingly long-it's been a month since they found the last village, where they got the horse- and cold, but worth it when the girls had each other. Snow was getting accustomed to being a wolf, but had accidentally scared away their horse when she was in wolf-form. Red had stood by and fell over laughing when her companion watched the horse take off.

Snow had apologetically turned to her and looked so innocent, like a child caught sneaking an extra cookie, and Red immediately stopped laughing and assured Snow it was alright.

_Don't worry about it, we can just travel as wolves._

_But what if a hunter comes around? _

_Then we'll fight them off. They can't take the both of us. _Snow was now the one to laugh, nearly-hysterically.

_Not with a fearsome predator such as yourself. _

_Fearsome? Me? It's nothing compared to the dangerous Snow White. _Snow laughed again. _C'mon, we need to get going. _Snow grabbed the pack in her teeth and continued on, talking with Red as they went. Red snuck up on her and snatched the bag from Snow, fastening it to her own back.

_I was handling it just fine. _Red rolled her eyes and snickered. When the sun rose again, Red shifted into her human form, with Snow following suit. Red hoisted the pack up higher on her back and hummed to herself as they trekked. Snow drew closer to her and grabbed the other woman's hand tentatively. Red looked up at her and smiled.

"We've been doing this for a while, but…what _are _we doing?"

"Well, what do you want it to be?"

"I was hoping you were…courting me, in a way."

"In a way?"

"Well, we've already been caught in unforeseen circumstances like this one, so I thought our relationship was as spontaneous as our living situation."

"I could use a little spontaneity," Red remarked. "Not too much though." Snow laughed and leaned against Red's shoulder.

"I'm tired," Snow whined. Red chuckled and dusted a layer of snow off a large rock gesturing for her to go ahead.

"Take as much time as you need."

"I don't deserve you." Snow sat down, but instead of pulling Red beside her, she pulled her right onto her lap.

"Oh!"

"Hi," Snow said slyly. Red adorably scrunched her nose and smirked.

"Hi."

"So how's the weather?" Red shoved Snow's shoulder before chuckling and kissing her gently. Their lips barely brushed before Snow was standing up, carrying Red.

"Put me down," Red yelled.

"Nope. You're mine now." Red resigned herself, but turned the tables on her by morphing into a wolf and hopping out of her arms.

"I win," Red changed back and cheered.

"What's your prize?" Red cocked her head. "There's always a prize for winners. What's yours?"

"A kiss from the fairest maiden in all the lands." Snow rolled her eyes.

"You're a dork, but a kiss you shall have," she muttered, before literally sweeping her off her feet and dipping her until she was nearly parallel with the ground. She pressed her lips gently against hers, but quickly demanded entrance from Red's lips. Snow turned her back upright and Red blinked quickly for a minute.

"You okay?" Red giggled.

"Yup. I didn't think the fair maiden could kiss quite so…"

"Beautifully?"

"That's one way to put it."

"And the other?"

"…uses choice words." Snow burst out laughing and Red couldn't help but giggle with her.

"C'mon, now we _really _need to get going." Red nodded and wound her arm around Snow's waist. Even in the bitter cold, her skin was always warm.

By the next hour, they were well into the borders of the next kingdom, and relatively safe from Regina's black knights. Red was very near getting frostbite on her fingers, and Snow did everything she could to warm them up before they stopped and made camp for the evening.

* * *

Red was getting really tired of everything being trees. Everywhere she looked, trees and snow.

Snow was just tired in general. Red knew she was having nightmares nearly every night, and she would never tell her what they were about. She understood that dreams were pictures conjured by the brain, and it could very well be something she wasn't keen on telling just yet. Red just knew that Snow was always tired. Her body was constantly slumping and tired, her eyes forcing themselves open, and her hands have begun twitching at some points during the day.

To be truthful, Red didn't know a lot about Snow. She knew she was a bandit on the run from the Evil Queen, who wrongfully charged her with crimes she couldn't even fathom Snow committing, and that she is a princess on the run. And she was a great cook, but that wasn't important.

"Tell me a good memory from your childhood," Red said. Snow furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and it was hard not to kiss the space between them.

"Uh, there was this one time I had found a swimming hole near the castle. I really wanted to go into the water, so the next day, I brought some better clothes for the water, and something to change into after. I had the time of my life, I dove to the bottom and glided through the water. I came out with huge streaks of mud on my chest, my cheeks, and mud all over my feet. I tried drying myself off with leaves, but I ended up covering over half of my body with Poison Oak. I was bed-ridden for three days." Red laughed loudly. "Now tell me a story of yours."

"My childhood wasn't interesting."

"Of course it was. Mine wasn't, and I still came out with that story. There has to be _something!"_

_"_Well, there was this one time I was sledding in the winter and I flew from the sled. I got a cut all the way up my cheek, and it was the day before the school music concert. I was playing the flute." Red smiled to herself.

"You play flute? You'll have to show me."

"I will. I definitely will. Do you play any instruments?" Snow shook her head.

"I always wanted to play the piano, but I just didn't pick it up."

Snow had tried to be cautious with her heart. She's been broken too many times to believe that someone was here for her in the long run. Her parents, Regina, it was all too hard of experiences to be less than cautious with her heart. But Red was just so easy to let loose with. She made her laugh until she had to hold a hand over her chest to gather herself.

Her nightmares slowly went from Regina killing Red in some way of another, to Red leaving her, telling her she wasn't good enough; it was like Regina's words being regurgitated out of her lover's mouth. She didn't want to stray away from her, but she did, just slightly. Enough to have a chance at getting over Red leaving. She had to face it, it was inevitable.

Red noticed. She couldn't help but notice how Snow's touches didn't linger, she stood farther apart from Red, and she grew more and more silent, her gorgeous laughter growing scarce.

She tried to give her space to think, to do whatever she needed, but it's slowly been costing her own sanity.

"Snow, are you okay?" She looked to Snow, who smiled at her, but it didn't reach her once excited green eyes.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You don't seem…yourself."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Why not?"

"Why not what?"

"Worry about you. I want to, but you're retreating from me. What did I do?"

"It's nothing."

"Don't tell me it's nothing," Red pleaded. "I want to know. You can trust me." Snow sighed, and it took so long for her to answer, Red almost thought she wouldn't say.

"I don't want you to leave," Snow whimpered. Red's heart shattered to pieces in hearing her voice so sorrowful. It crushed in her chest even more when she saw Snow's eyes glimmer wetly.

"What makes you think I'm leaving you?"

"Because everyone else has. I just don't want to be alone again."

"Then why are you closing on me?"

"So I can move on faster when you leave." Red's eyes sprung with instant tears. She broke her rule of keeping to herself when Snow's eyes glistened and proved to Red just how innocent and small she was.

"God, no. I would never leave you. Ever. You're too perfect to leave. I know people have disappeared from your life many times before, and you've gotten so used to being alone, but trust me. I couldn't leave you even if I tried."

"Really?" Snow's eyes lit up with curiosity for the first time in so long. All she wanted to do was sink further and love her with everything she had. She immediately vowed that she would do just that.

"Yes. I can't believe you would think I would leave you. I'm in love with you, Snow. Are you blind? Can't you see me falling for you? It's literally impossible to. You are so kind. You loved the wolf in me, even when I thought I was unlovable. And now I'm having the time of my life being with you." Snow's smile shone through her doubts and she giggled like an idiot. Her happy, gorgeous, amazing idiot.

"You're really in love with me?"

"Of course I am. I really am." Snow was completely stunned into silence, and Red watched tears brim and flow down her face. Pure adoration completely filled the holes that her paranoia dug into her fragile body.

"I love you too." Snow launched herself at Red, grasping at the sides of her face and planting a loving kiss on her lips. Red held the smaller woman by the waist and poured everything she wanted to tell her into the kiss. _I love you, you mean the world to me, and I'm sorry you've been alone for so long. _Snow pulled back and breathed heavily. Red did the same, but never loosened the hold on Snow's waist.

"You are so magnificent. Magnificently beautiful," Red gasped.

"And you are fiercely loyal. You are absolutely bewitching, and you take all of my crap, and you are breathtaking, and-" Red quieted her with another ferocious kiss, stunning Snow beyond words. She took Snow's hand and flew down the road, passing a cart towed by a mule, and reached a hill. The stood on top and scanned the area. Snow no longer looked at this trip with dread for what was to come, she now soaked up every moment with fervour.

"Hey, look! There's a cabin," Red said, pointing to the land splayed out before them.

"We don't know if it's occupied or not."

"Let's go find out then." Red dragged her along again and ran down the hill, nearly struggling to find purchase on the slope while yelling in ecstasy. Snow giggled as she joined along in shouting like the wolves they were. The man directing the cart with the donkey turned his head and looked both confused and concerned. They couldn't care less as they reached the bottom of the hill and ran out of breath.

"We might have to come back when it's summertime and _roll_ down the hill when there isn't any snow."

"Yes, though I don't suggest doing it on the road."

"Oh, definitely not, now let's go see if this is our new home!" Snow laughed once more and squeezed Red's hand. They arrived at the cabin and no smoke billowed out of the chimney.

"So far, so good," Snow said cautiously. Red put a finger over her lips to silence her and nudged open the door. It was unlocked, that was good.

"Well, nothing's in here," Red whispered.

"Welcome home," Snow breathed. Red turned around with a wicked gleam in her eye, and before Snow could wonder what it meant, she was being picked up and placed onto the kitchen counter. Red was pushing against her, lips attacking her own. "Welcome home indeed."


	9. Roundabout

**Please send feedback, stay safe, stay inside, and I hope you enjoy! Love you guys, and so sorry for the delay, I had more writer's block (woohoo.)**

The house was abandoned for quite a while; mildew was growing in every corner of the house, the floorboards creaked with the slightest weight, and on windy days, the house whistled.

Snow was optimistic about fixing it and easily fell in love with the cabin, but Red would rather sleep outside than find out if the roof is leaky during the next rainstorm. After their third day in the cabin, Red stumbled upon a rather large river half an hour from the house and a well sat nearby. It was hard to admit for Red, but the outside of the cabin was gorgeous, even covered in a sheet of snow. The inside, however, was more debatable.

Red wanted to turn off her internal alarm clock, but she was up as soon as the sun was peeking over the horizon. Snow was curled up into her side and had her bare arms wound around her hips, softly mumbling into her hipbones. _I should get a tattoo on my hip, _Red thought. She chuckled and imagine how Snow would react.

She knew Snow was going to hate her for waking her up so early, but she got bored after trying to fall back to sleep after an hour. Red dove under the covers and kissed down Snow's body, occasionally nipping and kicking over the small bite before moving downwards further. Red heard the sheets shifting above her, before Snow started moaning and grumbling simultaneously.

"Red, it's early, go back to sleep."

"I can't," Red replied, licking a trail from Snow's navel to her throat and poking out of the covers to grin innocently at the woman above her. "Not when you're here." Snow rolled her eyes and dropped her head to the pillows, digging her face into the pillow as Red was pushed off of Snow's body. Red chuckled before looking around for garments to throw over her body before going to make breakfast.

They didn't have very much food, but Red was keen on finding a village in the area with a decent market to buy food. So for now, she just had to make eggs with the bird eggs Red found in a tree the other day. She checked to make sure she wasn't actually frying a chick before cracking the eggs open onto the pan and began cooking. Snow stumbled out of bed five minutes later, discreetly asking for the attention Red gave her earlier that morning. Red, of course, was reluctant to give it when she asked for it.

"Please, Red." Snow was whining, pulling at her wrist. Red didn't budge from her place in front of the pan, just giggled and tugged for her wrist back.

"I don't know what you want from me," Red said dumbly, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"You know what I want, now come back to bed," Snow moaned, pulling all her weight into Red's arm. Red giggled and moved back an inch, but tugged back and faced the cooking eggs again.

"You're so whiny in the mornings," Red laughed. "Well, after you're done being grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy, now _please," _Snow begged.

"I'm nearly finished. We'll finish breakfast and _then _I might let you drag me back to bed." Snow grinned triumphantly and reluctantly let go of Red's wrist.

"God, do you have eagle talons or something?" Red asked, rubbing the marks on her wrists Snow left from tugging.

"Nope, but I've got _claws," Snow _growled_. _Red screamed as sarcastically as she could, before giggling and digging out plates to put their eggs on. They ate, before Snow dragged Red upstairs with as much patience as a child on Christmas.

* * *

It was later in the day when Snow kicked Red out to go take a bath while Snow cleaned the house to prepare it for repairs. Red took off her cloak when she heard rustling in the bushes behind her. She kicked her cloak away and faced the bushes, eyes flashing amber.

Someone dressed in dark clothes pounced on her from the bushes, pushing her down to the rocks at the edge of the river. Her eyes focused on a man with a stubbled chin and the same yellow eyes as her.

"You're a—"

"—of course I'm a wolf. That's what I've come to talk to you about." Red raised her eyebrows expectantly until he climbed off her body.

"I'm Quinn," the man said, offering a dirt-crusted hand. "I've been looking for you."

"I'm sorry, it I've already got a wolf friend and I really must be getting back," Red said, picking up her cloak and stumbling over her words as she tries to leave.

"I have something that'll _make _you want to come."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Red was in the middle of sliding her cloak over her shoulders when Quinn grabbed it. "Hey, give that back!"

"Oof, I'm lucky it's Wolfstime now, because you're gonna want this back." Red' eyes went wide as she debated whether she should go with the strange wolf.

"I'm only doing this for Snow," Red whispered, before taking Quinn's outstretched hand.

Red nearly tripped down the steep stairs Quinn led her to. The room laid out in front of her was dark, lit by a few stray candles, and was decorated with old velvet pillows. Out of the shadows, people surfaced. At first, it was just black silhouettes which morphed into curious faces peeking at her in the dim light.

One woman stood out from the rest of them; she had dark hair like Red's, sun-kissed skin, and deep hazel eyes. The woman smiled up at her and flashed her amber eyes before motioning to a pillow in the middle of the circle of people. Red furrowed her brows and inhaled the strong smell of incense as she skeptically sat in front of the woman.

"Where did you take me?" Red asked. The woman in front of her watched her for a moment, before reaching out the touch Red.

"You haven't changed a bit, my pup."

"Your pup? Do you think I'm just some stray wolf? I can assure you I'm not alone, and she _will _come looking for me. Who even _are _you?"

"I'm Anita. I know you aren't alone, Red." Red's heart picked up it's pace.

"Red? You know my name?"

"Of course I do. What mother doesn't know her child's name?" _Child? She thinks I'm her child?_

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but my mother was killed by hunters," Red informed the woman, getting up to leave.

"That's the best Eugenia has? Hunters?" Her use of Granny's real name made Red sit back down.

"You _are _my mother," Red said happily. The woman smiled back and held out her arms for Red to embrace. Red grinned brightly before hugging her.

"How did you find me?"

"Have you forgotten about _all _of our impeccable noses?" Red laughed relieved and took the time to fully glance around the room. There were about nine other people in the room, peering at the interaction before them.

"Who are they," Red whispered to Anita. Anita laughed and introduced everyone.

"This is the wolf pack. Hopefully it can be yours too."

"Really? What about Snow? She'll be so happy—"

"Snow can't join us," Anita told her gravely. Red's face fell.

"But she's a wolf, I can show you."

"I know she's a wolf, but have you seen how mercilessly the Evil Queen is hunting her? We can't risk getting caught."

"You didn't do anything wrong, you will all be fine."

"The Evil Queen has a history of enlisting wolves in her royal guard, and even as knights. Even if she doesn't force us into her royal guard, she'll surely execute us for our involvement with her."

"Are you kidding? She's a wolf, and she's my family. I'm not leaving her behind."

"Even for me? I just met you, and now you're leaving me for her? You'd be with her over your own blood?" Red's resolve crumbled once more.

"i don't want to leave you, but if it comes down to it, I'll choose Snow."

"I guess we're gonna have to change your mind," Anita said, analyzing Red with a sharp eye.

It's been hours since Red went to the river and Snow's been pacing through the house. She didn't want to look for Red, in case she was being paranoid and Red was out exploring or buying groceries and supplies, but she had enough when the sky was dark.

Snow couldn't find Red's scent anywhere, so she stuck with finding the river and trying to sniff her out from there. She made it to the river's edge and followed the flow of water until she though se could smell a trace of Red somewhere. She turned frantically trying to find the direction. She walked in circles trying to find anything, but the scent was faint and nearly gone.

"Red!" She called out to the still night. No sound met her ears in return. She continued yelling while pacing on the shore of the river, walking off in one direction when the scent was strong, but just like that, it left as quick as it came and she paced around once more.

Snow's throat hurt and Red's scent was completely gone by the time Snow laid down on the shore of the river, tears brimming her hurt green eyes.

Just when she thought her relationship with Red was amazing, she was left again. Once more, she was alone in the woods, nobody to turn to. She wiped away a tear that escaped her eyes away and felt drowsiness finally settle into her tired bones. _Red was gone. Did she even love me? _


	10. Don’t You See?

**I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, writer's block had me in a chokehold once again. Please send feedback, stay safe, and I hope you enjoy! I've also been coming up with tons more prompts and adding them to my list (which has now surpassed 50) and I've finally been able to come up with some more RedSnow!**

Snow slept outside that night, on the shore of the river where Red was bathing nearly twenty four hours ago. By the time Snow woke, she was fully expecting a thin river of tears from where Snow was lying, to the river. Snow didn't find it particularly cold that night, but she fell asleep after she could morph into her wolf. On most nights during Wolfstime, Snow and Red slept outside together, or slept in front of the fireplace where there would be enough room for the both of them, Red sometimes wearing her hood.

Snow was reluctant to open her eyes. She couldn't feel the hot sun beating down on her skin yet, but she assumed the sun was just rising or hidden behind a wall of clouds. She finally opened her eyes and found it wasn't morning at all, but still night. After much inner-debate, Snow rose and ambled to the river's edge, where her wolf reflection stared back at her. It was still night; she would've changed back if it was still morning. She huffed and went back to the spot where she slept, until a howl in the distance tore through the air and all sleepy, tranquil thoughts washed from her mind.

Snow took off where she heard the wolf howl and trotted along in a large patch of tall grass. She craned her neck to look around, and heard a chorus of wolf howls bless her ears.

"There's more," she thought. It could only mean one thing: Red found a pack of werewolves or she was just listening to a pack of wolves or coyotes. When the wolves shouted and howled at the night sky for a third time, Snow swore she could hear Red's howl among the rest. She knew it off by heart. She picked up speed and quickly got out of the tall grassy area to a rolling hill. In the near distance, a mountain painted the scenery and the river continued on beside it. She could just make out the bodies of multiple animals trotting in tall grass, the grass being taller than most of the wolves, aside from two large wolves, twice the size of Snow. She sprinted to the small pack and tried to pick out where Red was.

Once Snow could pick out Red at the back of the pack, she whimpered softly, enough to make Red know it was her without being loud. Red turned back around and immediately pounced on Snow. The pack of wolves continued on, not paying attention to Red's disappearance. Red was overtop of Snow, licking her snout lightly.

_What the hell, Red?! You just disappeared without telling me! I was so worried about you. _Snow pouted and pawed at Red's chest. Red got off of Snow and let her get up before walking back in the direction of the cabin.

_I'm so sorry, but this guy blackmailed me into going with him. I went and it turns out, my mother sent him to find me. _

_Your mom? I thought you said she was killed by hunters. _

_That's what Granny told me, but she's alive. _

_That's great news! Can I meet her?_

_Actually, I need to talk to you about that. _Snow cocked her head to the side and stopped in her tracks as she waited for Red to explain.

_I told my mother that I wouldn't leave you behind, but she said you aren't allowed with the pack. _

_Why not? I'm a wolf too! _

_I told her that, but she said that because the Evil Queen's looking for you, it poses too much danger to everyone and they can't risk it. _Snow's head fell.

_Then what are _you _going to do? _

_I'm saying goodbye to mother today and I'll tell her that she's free to visit us at the cabin. You can come with me. _Snow beamed and brushed her head against Red's neck affectionately. As soon as Snow pulled away, they were back to their normal selves. Snow laughed and formally hugged the brunette.

"I thought you left me," Snow whispered shakily.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm never leaving you." Red tenderly kissed Snow and cradled her cheeks in the palms of her hands. Snow wound her arms around Red's waist and forbade her from every letting go.

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"Red, where were you?" Anita asked. Red sauntered into the dark basement with arms around Snow's neck and her attached at Red's hip. "And what is she doing here? I told you, she's too dangerous to let in here."

"We're only here to say goodbye, and if you would like to, you're free to visit our cabin near the lake."

"Why go so soon? You just found me!"

"I know, but I'm staying with my girlfriend." Red smiled brightly and pecked Snow on the cheek. Anita frowned.

"But I would like to know you better. I think I speak for the entire pack when I say that we want you here." A dozen heads bobbed up and down in agreement.

"Haven't you noticed that I can't communicate with you in wolf form? I'm not from your pack, I'm Snow's pack."

"But communicating with each other is an acquired skill," Anita reasoned.

"That may be so, but I don't _want_ to be a part of your pack. I'm ecstatic that I found you, but my heart and my home belongs to Snow. Like I said, you can visit us, but I don't fit into this pack."

"You _can _fit into this pack."

"I'm not forcing myself to fit in when I have Snow. She won't require me to force into anything."

"But—"

"Stop arguing with me," Red snapped. "She is everything to me. I don't want to be a part of this pack, and that's final. If you listened to me, you would know that we live in a cabin down the river and you're free to visit any time. Goodbye mother, and I hope to see you soon." Red huffed and waved to the room with finality, before turning to leave and being stopped by an imposing Black Knight.

"Seize the werewolves," the leader ordered, unleashing his small army on the pack. Snow and Red watched as people around them speedily transformed into their wolf forms and lunged at the knights.

Snow joined the wolves in the fight, biting and pouncing wherever she could.

"Snow, stop!" Red yelled. Among the guards, murmurs sounded around at the bandit-turned-wolf. It didn't stop them from fighting, and only distracted everyone else. Across the room, a sharp slicing sound cut through the air. Quinn fell to the floor with blood leaking from his throat and a guard standing above him. That set off a horde of angry werewolves to relentlessly tear at the knights. When every one of the guard was laying dead on the cold floor of the den, Anita spoke up.

"Quinn's death was all your fault," Anita growled. "She led them to our den and cost us a life."

"I didn't mean to, I didn't know they were following me," Snow begged.

"She didn't know, mother, it isn't her fault."

"Yes it is. Wherever humans go, death follows. To repay for her mistake, we feast on a princess. Tie her up!" Werewolves flanked Snow on all sides, while Anita held Red back from running to Snow. Snow struggled against the people holding her arms behind her back.

"This is what it means to be a wolf, Red. We kill."

"I don't want to kill. I'm not killing my girlfriend."

"Then I will." Anita walked past Red and looked around at the remaining wolves as they transformed once again. Anita did the same into her ivory wolf coat. She snarled at Snow as she pulled at the ties keeping her attached to a stone pillar.

"Please," she whispered softly. Anita bared her teeth in a snarl and leapt forward. Snow released a low scream from the back of her throat. The sharp pains of a wolf's teeth never came, so when she opened her tightly-shut eyes, Red was wrestling with her mother in the dull light of the den. She gasped and felt the ropes around her wrists fall away. She immediately rushed around to see what the horrid, squishing noise was and which wolf she could hear simpering.

At her feet, Anita was gasping for air and coughing, while Red was left gaping at the piece of metal impaling her mother's abdomen. Snow stood and watched as Red crouched at her mother's side.

"You chose her," Anita said weakly.

"I chose myself," Red objected, taking her mother's hand. "I'm not a killer." Then Anita's body went limp as Ruby looked up at Snow with eyes rimmed with tears.

"I'm sorry, mother," Red cried. Snow kneeled down next to Red and embraced her as she collapsed into Snow.

"I'm so sorry," Snow ground out. "I could've stopped this."

"Snow, don't beat yourself up about this. She could've forgiven you, and you didn't know the guards were following you. It was an accident. These were _both _accidents." Snow bit her lip and nodded, pulling Red flush against her. "We need to bury her." Snow nodded and helped grab Anita's hands as Red grabbed her feet. they lifted her out of the den.

The two women found a spot near the cabin and rested her gently on the billowing grass.

"I'll grab a shovel," Snow offered. Red nodded and waited for Snow to come back.

"I don't regret my decision," Red said conversationally to her mother, lungs devoid of air. "I love her with all my heart and I will love her until I die. I'm sorry your life was lost in this, but I don't regret saving Snow, saving myself. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to _breathe _without her." Red looked down at her mother and twirled a piece of her chestnut hair around her finger. Snow came back and started mapping out Anita's resting place. She started to dig, as Red gathered wildflowers from around them and organized them into a bouquet. Snow dug for a while, then Red took over and dug the rest of the way until the grave was deep enough.

They hefted Anita into the grave and stepped back. Red let a few tears trickle down her face, but she didn't have much to mourn. She always thought her mother was dead, she had already spent so many tears mourning her before. Snow placed her hand in Red's and squeezed reassuringly. Red squeezed back before tossing the bouquet of flowers into the grave.

"Goodbye mother. I'll tell Granny you say hi." Red smiled fondly as Snow hesitantly grabbed the shovel to begin filling in the grave. Red helped as well, finding her own shovel from the house to contribute.

Once the grave was entirely covered, Red patted the dirt fondly and placed a few other flowers on top, in the hopes that new flowers would grow there eventually.

Snow directed Red back into the house and made her tea, while Red silently watched from the table. Conversation was scarce, but Red liked it; she wanted to think. Snow put down her cup of tea and sat on a chair next to her. She rubbed slow circles up and down Red's back.

After drinking their tea, Red stood up and urged Snow outside to sit by the river. She didn't want to waste the day mourning, she wanted to celebrate her mother's life and be happy, like she so often was. Red waded in the shallow ends of the river and let her bare feet soak against the pebbles she stood on. Snow joined her and immediately started a water fight, which ended with Red picking her up and bringing her into the middle of the river, soaking both of their clothes, and kissing her hard and insistently. Snow opened her mouth to Red and allowed her to completely take the breath out of her. Red put Snow down and grabbed her waist, pulling Snow against her body.

Snow giggled into their kiss and gasped for air.

"I'm all wet now," Snow whined. Red laughed.

"You can suck it up," she scoffed, kissing and nipping down her neck. Snow grinned and wrapped her arms around Red's shoulders.


	11. You Belong with Me

**This is it, my friends. I thought this would be a good place to stop. I'm so very sorry for the fluctuating schedules in terms of updating this fanfic, but I'm hoping I could do you justice and give our two favourite wolves the ending they deserve. I hope you enjoyed this fanfic, and I'll have more RedSnow fanfics in the making, because I hold this ship near my heart in all it's underrated glory. Stay safe, beautiful people, and I hope you enjoy. Please send your reviews, they really make my day. :) **

Red held a cup of warm milk close to her chest. The morning light cast shadows of billowing grass and flowers on her mother's grave, now fully covered in flowers. Snow was still in bed, giving Red the alone time she needs.

This was the day Granny and her celebrated her mother's birthday by making cupcakes and sitting outside to watch the night sky. Now after meeting her mother, it held so much more meaning. She needed to think and mourn properly, which meant leaving the stuffy bedroom. It's been almost six months since they arrived at the cabin and they have all the repairs on the building finished, and even hired someone from the town a handful of miles away to install a gas oven for them. Now Red could make the cupcakes for her mother's birthday, or any time, for that matter.

Red thought she could hear stirring on the floor above her, which snapped her out of her reminiscent reverie and reminded her of her task. She went outside and to their newly-installed chicken coop on the outside of the house. Snow hated chickens, but she relented Red's request to get a coop for the purpose of having eggs on hand all the time. A little while after, she got Snow to agree to getting a cow. Unlike the chickens, Snow really loved their cow. When Red was cooking, Snow would go out and feed Sunny, telling the cow about her day and asking about hers in return, which left her unanswered. It always made Red giggle and want to kiss Snow senseless. Most of the time, she told Snow this, which made the latter woman roll her eyes and bring her to the couch, regardless of her activities, and kiss her until they were both panting.

Red grabbed a few eggs, then fetched the milk from yesterday's jug. She pulled out the ingredients Granny engraved into her head for cupcakes and began mixing them separately, before adding both mixes of ingredients to each other.

She heard more stirring from upstairs and smiled, knowing Snow would either whine for Red to come back upstairs, or join her and watch from the countertop, stealing kisses every time Red got close. Red loved how Snow was so fond of her to follow her around everywhere, arms wrapped around some part of her body. She always loved when Snow wrapped her arms around Red's waist and carried her, even when Snow is shorter. She also knew that Snow enjoyed when Red carried her too.

The stairs creaked as Red heard small footsteps accompany them. She smiled when she saw Snow in one of her shirts, rubbing her eyes and smiling.

"Morning," she mumbled. Red grinned brilliantly.

"Good morning, beautiful." Snow giggled and stood behind her, wrapping small arms around her front and kissing her neck.

"What are you making?"

"Cupcakes."

"Ooh, yum." Snow stuck her finger into the batter and licked the mixture off her hands. "Do I taste chocolate?"

"Only the best cacao of Agrabah," Red replied. "They were my mother's favourite. It's her birthday today, and Granny and I had a tradition of making cupcakes and going outside to watch the night." Snow smiled tranquilly.

"That sounds nice," she mumbled into her neck, pressing kisses there every so often. "I wish I didn't kill her." Red knew it wasn't for her to hear, but she stopped her pouring and turned around.

"You know for a fact that it wasn't your fault."

"It was," Snow whispered, hugging her arms around herself.

"Listen, it wasn't, and if you say that one more time, I will make you sleep in the chicken coop."

"It's not like I haven't done that before..."

"I know, and how much did you enjoy _that?" _

"Not at all," Snow whispered, lips upturning slightly at the memory, before falling again.

"Look, it's not your fault. I've been telling you this since that day, and if you can't accept that you're wrong, I will tell you this for the rest of our lives. Okay? Okay. I'm going to keep making my cupcakes." Snow smiled and nodded to her turned back. She watched Red finish pouring the batter into her muffing tins.

"Why are they red?"

"Granny always adds raspberry juice to the batter so it makes red velvet."

"Wait, red velvet is just chocolate? I've had so many red velvet cakes at dinners in the palace and I never knew." Red popped the cupcake tray in the oven and Snow sat on the counter.

"What was it like? Living in a ginormous palace with servants and cooks and maids?"

"It was lonely. My mother and father loved me, but I rarely saw them. They were always out on business with another kingdom or in their studies. Sometimes Abigail or Belle, both princesses, would come over, but it just made the palace lonely after they left." Snow swung her legs back and forth from her perch on the counter.

"The maids didn't make it any less lonely. They always had to work, so I was left to explore the castles as much as I pleased. I found a bunch of passages in the walls that the knights used, and I found ways to sneak into the kitchens for food, and I spent lots of time in the garden."

"After my father married Regina, it got so much more lonely. I thought I would finally have someone to be with in the empty halls, but she ignored me. It got lonelier knowing that Regina was avoiding me, instead of being busy."

"I forgot you lived with the Evil Queen."

"That's a stupid name," Snow muttered. "She isn't evil."

"She kicked you out of the castle and tried to get you killed. You must be joking when saying that."

"I'm not. She isn't evil. Not really. She saved me. When we first met, I was riding a horse. That horse got out of control and nearly threw me off. Regina came and saved me on her own horse. That's how I met her. Then daddy proposed to her and she said yes, but she loved someone else. She was going to run away with her stable boy, but she didn't. He left her." Red looked lost in thought, so Snow continued.

"She was good once. I still remember her beautiful smile before she had to fake it."

"You loved her, didn't you?" Red asked, reading her girlfriend like an open book.

"I did. I might still do. I even had a small crush on her when I was young, but I found someone better." Snow cupped Red's cheek and smiled. "But I wish she never hated me. I don't even know why. She just does, and nobody deserves to have their heart tainted with darkness. She was such a young girl when it happened. She was sixteen when daddy married her, twenty-four when she sent the huntsman for my heart. I feel bad for her, and I want to help her get better, be good again. The kind, good-hearted Regina is still in there." Snow smiled at the memories, while her girlfriend processed the story told to her.

"She'll find her redemption," Red predicted. "I know she will." Snow smiled.

"She will."

"So, you had a crush on your stepmother?" Red had a joking lilt to her voice.

"Yeah, that sounds dumb, but..."

"I understand. Did you have a crush on any boys?" Snow quirked a suspicious eyebrow. "I'm just curious."

"Fine, but you owe _me _a few stories afterwards." Red snickered.

"I never crushed on a boy, but I tried to convince myself I did. I didn't want to tell my father I fancied women, especially his wife. So instead, I convinced myself I liked men, but as soon as I kissed one, I flinched and ran away for Regina. That was still in the time that she talked to me and even comforted me about not liking the kiss. I don't remember if I told her I liked women instead, I was too sleepy. I _did _have a crush on princess Abigail for a time, but that fizzled out as well."

"With me, did you think it was a crush too?"

"No. I knew something was different. Every waking moment, I thought about you, and even the day we met, I knew I wanted to love you. And I ended up doing just that."

"You love me?"

"I love you. So much." Red smiled and kissed Snow soundly. "Ah ah ah, you owe me some stories, Red Lucas." Red groaned.

"Oh Gods, what do you want to know?"

"What was your first kiss like?"

"It was amazing. Peter and I were in the woods, I had come back from exploring the woods, and he found me. We kissed against a tree and he took my breath away."

"If he hadn't died, would you have still gone after me?"

"Definitely. Even the day I met you, like you said, I wanted you and only you." Snow grinned with unshed tears brimming her eyes.

"What was your childhood like?"

"Terrible. Kids are terrible." Snow giggled. "I went to a school with nearly five hundred kids, who all seemed to like teasing me. Especially this one girl, she would try her hardest to berate me, embarrass me, and taunt me. She stole my cloak one time, she replaced my lunch with bugs, and she invited me to a bonfire, only to make fun of me. I hated school, and Granny could only do so much to stop the bullying." Snow's face crumpled in confusion.

"How could anyone do such a thing? And to _you? _You are the single greatest human I have ever met and they choose to give you _ants_ for lunch?"

"You surely can't mean that."

"I do. I definitely do." Snow smiled and pulled Red back in for another languid kiss. She wound her legs around Red and pressed her body against her, growling softly into her ear before dipping down to bite her neck. Red let a moan escape her throat, that was silenced by the kitchen timer going off behind them.

"I'll make it up to you later," Snow said into Red's ear.

"Like last night? God, you're insatiable, woman."

"Insatiable for you," Snow murmured, before shoving Red in the direction of the oven. "Now hurry up." Red brought the cupcakes out of the oven. "Please."

"Now for the buttercream!" Snow groaned, but smiled.

———————————————————————

Red tried to keep Snow from the cupcakes all day after allowing her a taste test, wanting to save them for their stargazing. It worked, as long as she kept her distracted. Now, the sun was just dipping below the horizon and they were sitting on the roof. They sat in silence for a little while, and it wasn't until the night sky was completely painted black that Snow reached for a cupcake, mumbling something Red couldn't hear.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, it's stupid."

"I would tell you if it's stupid. Please tell me?"

"We should get married," Snow reiterated. Red nearly choked on air. "I love you, and you love me, and I think we should get married. Unless you don't want to..."

"I do, it's just, I don't see the point. I love you, you love me, and we don't _have_ to make it official. We could even just say we're married..." Snow's face fell and she turned back to her cupcake. Red laid a hand on her arm. "I think that'd be a great idea though. We don't necessarily have to get it officiated, just have a little celebration with some friends. You could invite Belle and Abigail, and I could invite Granny, and it'll be like we're getting married, without going through the hassle of officiating...would you be okay with that?"

"More than," Snow said, grinning.

"If it isn't, we can still have an official wedding..."

"No, I like it even better." A small beat of silence passed. "We're getting married!" Red giggled happily.

"You're practically already my wife. I just need to write the perfect vows and then we'll live our happily ever after."

"Actually, I'd like to think of it more as our...happy beginning." They both smiled at each other and kissed under the moonlight.


End file.
